Texas Man Accused of Theft in Dead Uncle's Military Pension

RICHMOND, Texas -- A recently retired county jail guard in Texas has been charged with pocketing two decades worth of military pension checks sent to his long deceased uncle.

The Houston Chronicle reports that Burnie Joseph Haynes is accused of theft of federal funds for taking more than $286,000 from his late uncle's bank account, which was receiving military pension checks for service in the U.S. Air Force.

He's set to appear in federal court Tuesday.

Haynes was a detention officer for the Fort Bend Sheriff's Office until about two weeks ago.

Court documents show Haynes' uncle, Joseph McKinley Wells, died in 1996. He didn't list any benefactors on his account, but Haynes had signatory authority through a power of attorney.

Federal officials allege Haynes stole money from 1996-2016 in the form of retirement pay from the Defense Department.

The newspaper couldn't reach Haynes for immediate comment.

___

This article was from The Associated Press and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com.